An experimental extreme drought reduces the likelihood of species to coexist despite increasing intransitivity in competitive networks

• Published in: The Journal of ecology Vol. 106; no. 3; pp. 826 - 837
• Main Authors: Matías, Luis, Godoy, Oscar, Gómez-Aparicio, Lorena, Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford John Wiley & Sons Ltd 01.05.2018; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: annual plants; annuals; Aridity; Biological competition; climate; Coefficients; Coexistence; Competition; Computer simulation; Demography; Dominance; Drought; dry environmental conditions; Dynamics; Environmental conditions; environmental filtering; Extreme drought; Fitness; Growing season; Herbivores; Interactions; intransitive competition; network theory; Networks; niche; Niches; Plant species; Seeds; Special Feature-Research Articles; Species; stabilising mechanisms; Storms

1. Very little is known about how variation in environmental conditions alters the strength and the structure of competitive networks and what are the consequences of this for species coexistence. 2. We performed a competition experiment with 10 annual plant species to parameterise a population mode...